New Zealand quake repair bill could cost billions

Tuesday, November 15, 2016 - 01:10

Helicopters have started evacuating parts of New Zealand, a day after a powerful earthquake killed two people and triggered massive landslides cutting off the town of Kaikoura. As Eve Johnson reports, the cost of repairs has been put in the billions.

▲ Hide Transcript

▶ View Transcript

Broadcasters: NO ACCESS NEW ZEALAND/MUST ON SCREEN COURTESY ''GOLF WAREHOUSE''/ NO ARCHIVE/NO RESALE/NO USE AFTER DECEMBER 14, 2016 Digital: NO ACCESS NEW ZEALAND INTERNET SITES / ANY INTERNET SITE OF ANY NEW ZEALAND OR AUSTRALIAN BASED MEDIA ORGANISATIONS OR MOBILE PLATFORMS/MUST ON SCREEN COURTESY ''GOLF WAREHOUSE''/ NO ARCHIVE/NO RESALE/NO USE AFTER DECEMBER 14, 2016 . For Reuters customers only.
A full scale evacuation underway in New Zealand
Helicopters lifting stranded tourists to safety from the cut-off town of Kaikoura...
a day after a deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake...
set off tens of thousands of landslides cutting off roads and rail links.
The military says it will be able to lift 200 people out on Tuesday
But with more than 12-hundred tourists stuck in the town...
The rescue effort looks set to continue for days...
Hampered by bad weather and hundreds of aftershocks
Prime Minister John Key says the repair bill will be in the billions of dollars.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) JOHN KEY, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER, SAYING:
"So some very short-term practical issues that need to be resolved - making sure that we're getting more water, food and ultimately people in here to support the nearly 600 people at the welfare centre."
Experts say it appears the quake was actually TWO tremors that hit nearly at the same time...
In the capital city Wellington residents still busy cleaning up the mess....
with some people heading back to work as buildings start to re-open.

French President Emmanuel Macron heads into the summer break faced with falling popularity ratings after tough debates in parliament over labour reform and a public ethics law, a standoff with the military and cuts to housing assistance

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than one billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national, and international news to professionals via Thomson Reuters desktops, the world's media organizations, and directly to consumers at Reuters.com and via Reuters TV. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products: